


The Art of Compromise

by Kemis



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Community: kinkfest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-05
Updated: 2007-09-05
Packaged: 2017-10-06 14:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kemis/pseuds/Kemis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud is not obsessed with SOLDIER. No, really. He isn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art of Compromise

It all started with an off-hand comment from a squad mate. They had been out drinking – one of the very rare times Cloud joined the guys – and somehow the conversation had drifted on the topic of dreams. Phyllis had said that having a dream was a two-edged sword, because the harder you fight for it the easier the dream can turn into obsession, and the moment obsession takes over you're screwed.

They had all been pretty tipsy by that time, and they laughed at that (Sanchez had thrown a lemon slice at Phyllis), but for some reason those words stuck. When he finally stopped and thought about it for a minute, Cloud realized that never in his life he had wanted anything but becoming a SOLDIER. He was not obsessed, though, he told himself. He was just ambitious – very focused.

He had spent all his childhood collecting Shinra recruitment posters and pictures of General Sephiroth, looking at them again and again until late at night. Nibelheim was a horrid place where he and his mother had never really been wanted, and he wanted to get out of there, become someone important and strong and show it to those miserable bastards that he wasn't worthless. He wasn't obsessed – he was a _fighter_, dammit. And SOLDIER had been the perfect answer.

What was there _not_ to want about it? Being a trooper sucked big time – shitty pay check, shitty food, shitty lodgings, shitty gears, shitty, non-fitting, _itchy_ uniforms. But, oh, being a SOLDIER...

The pay was good, which meant the food wasn't shitty because you could actually afford not to eat every meal at the cafeteria. The lodgings were all but shitty. Third Class had to double up, but Seconds and up got spacious private rooms with nice, comfortable beds and conjoined bathrooms with a very roomy shower and a limitless supply of hot water – that, Cloud knew from personal experience. He had been having an affair with Zack's shower for months now.

Shinra definitely didn't skimp out on SOLDIER gear. They all had personalized weapons, top of the crop and powerful and shiny, as well as lots of materia to pick from. Cloud still remembered meeting Zack for the first time – he had been wandering around the compound, looking for the gym, when he had caught a glimpse of that beauty disappearing behind a corner. Just like that, he was hooked. He had followed – he _had_ to get another glimpse, needed to see better, to know more. He had found his siren again near the SOLDIER barracks, standing beautiful, tall and strong – it was love at first sight. He wasn't sure how long it had been before he had felt someone knock on his shoulder, and he had tore his eyes off the gleaming Buster Sword hanging from the back of a SOLDIER vet long enough to see a dark-haired boy that threw him an amused look and a knowing "One hell of a sword, isn't it".

And, Ramuh, the _uniforms_.

When he had first taken off from Nibelheim, with the image of Sephiroth etched in his mind, somehow the notion that SOLDIERs had different uniforms from the General's hadn't really quite registered. He hadn't thought for a moment that there would be other people dressed the same way – it was absurd. That kind of attire put on anyone else would only make them look ridiculous.

He had no idea who had come up with that uniform – if there was a special office in the PR Department of Shinra for creating clothes for all occasions or if it had been the General himself – but it was definitely something designed to intimidate. Black leather and gleaming armor plates, and then buckles, more leather and more steel over a milk-white, smooth bare chest. Sephiroth looked powerful and lethal and so impossibly handsome he half-wanted to disappear because there was no way a nameless nobody like him could exist on the same planet as _him_, much less work in the same complex. His first day in the army, when the cadets had been standing on attention as the General gave them a brief introductory speech, the intense heat and a bad case of nerves hadn't been the only thing that had made his head spin. Cloud almost wondered if Sephiroth had a special high uniform for formal occasions, but he didn't want to think of that, no. That way laid only madness and dirty pants and having to change his sheets _again_ as his bunkmate teased him. Thank Shiva he didn't talk in his sleep.

The regular SOLDIER uniform was another thing altogether, Cloud mused as he watched Zack practice. It was more about diverting the attention of people from the person wearing it. SOLDIERs were so above the average human people were naturally wary of them. Not outright scared, though, at least not most people - it was kind of hard to be frightened at first sight by a guy wearing suspenders and a woolen turtleneck. Cloud suspected that was precisely what Shinra had been aiming for.

"Hey, Spike, are you alright?" Zack's voice jerked him from his musings and he looked up at him. "You look kinda flushed."

"No, I'm fine." He was proud that it didn't come out as a squeak, but he wasn't sure he was as successful with fighting down the blush.

Zack gave him a weird look, but didn't say anything. "Pass me the water, will you?"

Cloud rummaged briefly in Zack's bag and tossed him the bottle. The older boy snatched it from midair and took a long drink. "I'm trying to work out a new attack sequence to hit two enemies with one swipe, but it's pretty tricky. It's still a work in progress, mind you, but I want to know what you think of it." He put back the bottle on the bench Cloud was sitting on, picked back up the Buster and went back to the mat twirling the sword.

On the whole, Cloud decided as he watched Zack pretend not to show off, the uniform didn't give much of a I-could-crush-you-like-a-beer-can vibe, yet it subtly emphasized the physical prowess. The top stretched perfectly on his chest, leaving his muscled arms bare for anyone to look at, and the pants, while resilient and comfortable, hugged his hips just right.

It was the shoulder guards gave the uniform the dignity it deserved. Sure, the massive belt was awe-inspiring, but without the armor there were just plain suspenders left. And suspenders by themselves just looked so... silly. He couldn't think of any attire with suspenders that wouldn't look silly. Although, maybe if one kept the pants and suspenders and took away the rest...

"So, how was that?" Zack stood in front of him now, skin damp with sweat and the big grin of a proud hen on his face. "It's not perfect yet, as I said, I'm still working on it."

"Er- I think, it's- the way you angle the sword. Yes." Cloud couldn't help it. The mental image of Zack wearing the big issue belt and those suspenders on his bare chest hit him like a ton of bricks. His face felt red hot.

"Cloud, are you sure you're feeling okay?" The older boy tugged off one of his gloves with his teeth and put his hand on his forehead. "You don't have a fever."

"I'm fine!" He half-heartedly batted his hand away, trying not to squirm too obviously. It was a marvel he still had enough blood left in his upper body to blush so hard. "How come you're training in full gear?"

"I… well. Being First Class is still a novelty, ya know?" He rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. "I'd never change out of my uniform. And the blue brings out the color of my eyes." He straightened, half-leering at him. "Don't you think I look good in my First Class uniform?"

Calm now. He only needed to shut up and play it cool. "It really just makes me want to rip it off you." Wait, he hadn't actually said that out loud, had he?

He looked up - Zack's eyes had widened and his mouth was hanging open just a bit, staring at him.

Shiva's tits, he _had_. "Fuck."

Zack finally snapped out of his stupor, blinking at him. "Did you just... say what I think you said?" he said slowly, letting the Buster fall on the mat as he advanced a step.

Cloud edged back on the bench a bit. "That the uniform looks nice on you?"

"No. You said that you want to rip it off me." He took another step toward him, a pleased smile slowly dawning on his lips. "Why, Spike, I didn't know you felt that way."

"You misheard." Cloud edged back more, swallowed dryly. Why did he suddenly feel like a mouse in front of a hungry cat? He eyed the door, considering just making a dash out of there and go hide in his barrack, to smother himself with his pillow.

He should have known better to take his eyes off Zack, because the moment he did the older boy _pounced_, snatching him for a tight hug.

"You know, that actually sounded like good plan," Zack purred, wrapping his arms around him and pressing him close against his front.

Cloud shivered and made a tiny sound in the back of his throat, feeling against his hip exactly how good the idea sounded to Zack. He was caught and he knew it.

"There's just a small problem. You see, I booked this training room for the next hour too, and paid in advance." he went on, his gloved hand burrowing under Cloud's shirt to rub at the small of his back. "It would be a real pity to leave early, don't you think?" Zack's eyes were hot and heavy on him as he spoke, moving his hand lower to slip under the hem of his pants to squeeze his bottom, making his intentions very clear.

Cloud bit the inside of his cheek to stifle the sound that wanted to escape, and considered his choices. It was pretty late in the evening, most people were already back in the barracks, and the private training rooms could be locked.

He had gotten this far already, might as well go all the way. Cloud buried his face against Zack's hair to hide his blush and nipped at his pierced lobe, thrilled with the tiny shiver it caused. "Lose the turtleneck and the shoulder guards and you have a deal."


End file.
